I’ve never gotten in a car and said, “I don’t know where I’m going but I’ll figure it out along the way.”
That might make for an interesting and fun adventure. But it’s not a good way to get anything done. Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.”
Think about your last vacation. I’ll bet you didn’t just get up the first day, throw some clothes in your bag, jump in your car and take off without knowing where you were going.
You probably spent many hours over several days choosing where you were going, how you were going to get there, what you were going to do along the way and when you got there. You knew how long it would take to get there, the route you taking, how long you would be able to stay, how much money you needed to take. You even checked the weather forecast every day as it got closer. If you have kids, the list of things to plan for is even longer.
As you plan your trip, the excitement grows and you share it with your family and friends. You can actually begin to see in your mind standing on the beach, or the rides at the amusement park, or hiking through the forest, or rafting down the river – whatever it is you’ve planned for.
Vacations are great. The planning is exciting and sometimes exhausting. But the result of all the planning will be well worth it.
But what about your life?
Most people spend more time planning for a vacation than they do their life. They go through life never giving a thought to where they want to end up. They just let life happen to them, and they wonder at the end of their life why they never achieved much of anything.
In The Success Grower: 8 Elements for Achieving Your Goals, the second element is called ‘Focus on the Harvest’. In order to reap success in your life, you need to focus on where you want to end up. Is there a dream job you want to have? Do you want to make one hundred thousand dollars next year? Do you want to have your own business?
What is the ultimate goal for your life? The choice is yours, but it’ll never happen if you don’t plan for it. You need to be as specific about where you want to end up in life as you are planning for a vacation.
Harvest is the culmination of all your efforts in striving for your goals and dreams. What do you dream about for your life? Do you focus on where you want to end up, or do you let each day happen and go with the flow?
Stephen R. Covey, in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, the second habit Begin With The End In Mind. It’s based on imagination – the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot presently see with your eyes. If you don’t consciously visualize what you want to achieve in life, you are leaving that decision up to others.
Harvest is a special time for a farmer or gardener. It is the culmination of all their planning and hard work. Before a seed was planted, the harvest was a vision and specific plans were made in order to get there.
You too can have a harvest in your life.
Decide what it is you want in your life. What you want to achieve and have and be in the future. Picture it in your mind, write it down, keep it where you can see it every day, and determine what action steps you need to take – every day – to have it.
Nothing has been achieved in the history of mankind that wasn’t first a dream. So dream big and focus on the harvest.
Get a copy of The Success Grower my recent book on identifying your dreams, setting goals and achieving success in your life.